Your Turn: September 12

The Alameda Theater, which opened in 1949, has seen several efforts at restoration over the years. The latest $26 million initiative involves the city, the county and Texas Public Radio.

The Alameda Theater, which opened in 1949, has seen several efforts at restoration over the years. The latest $26 million initiative involves the city, the county and Texas Public Radio.

Photo: Courtesy City Of San Antonio

Photo: Courtesy City Of San Antonio

Image
1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

The Alameda Theater, which opened in 1949, has seen several efforts at restoration over the years. The latest $26 million initiative involves the city, the county and Texas Public Radio.

The Alameda Theater, which opened in 1949, has seen several efforts at restoration over the years. The latest $26 million initiative involves the city, the county and Texas Public Radio.

Photo: Courtesy City Of San Antonio

Your Turn: September 12

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Theater funding

Re: “City OKs Alameda Theater funding,” A1, Sept. 1:

Proposed funding for the renovation of the Alameda Theater and surrounding downtown area is $23 million, with $9 million being appropriated by Bexar County. This is taxpayer money. These renovations affect Bexar County and city taxpayers.

With this occurring, it seems to me that the enterprises will be making money for the private sector.

These enterprises will be making revenue, once completed. The owner of these enterprises should be required to provide a payback plan to the city and county for the money with a specified timeframe acceptable to the people of San Antonio and Bexar County.

The use of public funds should not be used and should not be approved until a payback plan is approved.

Henry C. Holder

Castro High?

The NEISD school trustees voted to remove the name of Robert E. Lee from the high school, and I am wondering what the new name of the high school will be. Apparently other military heroes’ names will be considered.

I’m sure that the residents of a sanctuary city would welcome a Fidel Castro High School or even a Che Guevara High School.

Emmett J. Stork

Leveling the field

Re: “Unequal treatment,” “Your Turn,” Sept. 5:

In response to Mr. Moore’s comments regarding racism: Most “non-white” Americans know that not all “white” people are prejudiced.

However, the vast majority of Americans who hold political and economical power in our country are white, and too many of them continue to support racial biases in their policies and decision making.

The organizations and institutions to which you refer (NAACP, Miss Black America, the National Association of Black Journalist Awards, etc.) were created to try and level the playing field. If blacks were the dominant power brokers in America, one can wonder if those organizations would read ‘white” instead of “black”!

One can only hope that such organizations will not be needed in the near future.

Rick Garcia

A bad dream?

The Dream Act should stay.

The Trump nightmare should go.

Audrey Dlugosz

Blackmailed?

When this president bans transgender people in the military and denies pathways for Dreamers, he divides rather than unites our country.

I wonder if he is being blackmailed already.

Mark Porter

Senior options

It is important to me that all seniors are aware of their option, Medicare Advantage, especially those with chronic conditions like myself. Under Medicare Advantage, beneficiaries who have certain chronic conditions, are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. If they require long-term care, they can enroll in a Special Needs Plan (SNP). SNPs are designed to address complex conditions by providing better access to coordinated care for seniors like me who need it most.

I joined Better Medicare Alliance’s Chronic Disease Task Force to encourage members of Congress to permanently reauthorize Special Needs Plans for the 2.3 million people who rely on this personalized care. The current legislation on SNPs has received bipartisan support in Congress, but we all need to encourage our representatives to support the permanent reauthorization of SNPs.

SNPs tailor benefits, providers, and prescription drug coverage to best meet the needs of the beneficiaries they serve. I hope we can all agree that high-need, high-cost patients deserve the level of care that SNPs provide.

As senior advocate for Medicare Advantage, I urge Congress to establish long-term stability for SNPs through permanent authorization. I encourage all seniors and the disabled to contact your representatives to show your support for SNPs.

Richard Caldwell

Unnatural disaster

For millennia, hurricanes have pummeled Texas. But 350.org called Harvey an “unnatural disaster.”

Global warming didn’t cause Harvey — but made it worse. For decades, I’ve heard meteorologists say how hurricanes intensify over warm waters and how hotter, moister air creates heavier rainfall.

Harvey built from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in record speed as it moved over a hot spot two degrees warmer than the Gulf water around it, which was itself hotter than natural.

And these “unnatural disasters” also occur elsewhere. During Harvey’s unnatural flooding of Houston, a third of Bangladesh was under water. Over 1,000 died from unnatural flooding there and elsewhere in South Asia. For the thousands of people suffering from floods in Texas and Asia, it is too late to stop global warming. But for millions, possibly billions of others, it isn’t too late to stop an increasing destruction from “unnatural disasters.”

Bob Hendricks

Conform or else

It should come as no surprise that expressing conservative ideas, coupled with peer-reviewed, indisputable science regarding the varying capabilities of the two sexes, would serve adequately to get one fired at Google.

Only politically correct, social-justice-oriented groupthink is allowed. Those otherwise predisposed best stay silent or jump over the wall to freedom.

In a similar vein, there is considerable angst regarding the impact of robots on society and jobs. As Google has so pointedly proven, robots, in the form of humans either incapable or unwilling to express themselves freely, already dominate certain segments of the job market. Sad.